Emma63@juno.com
Okay, here's the second part of my fanfic...the usual disclaimers apply,
thanks to those of you who gave me your comments, keep them coming!
I'll be sending you my stories before they come out in the archive, ok?
I'm trying hard to read all _your_ fanfic out there, although it takes me
a while to send in comments. So hang in there! I only know parts of
where this is going, so all ideas and _constructive_ criticisms are
welcome
regarding this piece. Thanks again, all!
In the Morning, Will I See You?
Part 2
*-* means thoughts, _-_ means emphasis
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Far more fragile than
Tender blooms, so soon scattered
By the fresh spring winds,
Must I now bid you farewell
And leave gentle spring behind?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For the first time that week, Serena smiled in her sleep, and was
secure in the fact that Darien was hers, and no one else's. At the
Cherry
Hill temple, however, Raye was having a more disturbing dream- or was
it a vision?
Mars was eyeing the Prince and Princess from a balcony above,
shadowed in the darkness that she felt, and sensing an evil within her
that
she could not explain. It wasn't the kind of evil she was used to
fighting-
in fact, many would not agree that it was evil at all. Yet because she
loved
her princess with all of her pure soul, it was as if she had betrayed
that
love through her own selfishness. The qualities that had made her worthy
of the title of Mars...passion, fire, fierce loyalty, and stubborn
protectiveness
...were now her weaknesses in her struggle against loving Prince
Endymion,
Darien of Earth.
Serenity watched her children, two obliviously happy, the other,
wretched in her misery and conflictions of the heart.
"Mars, my child-" if only you knew how much strength that love
of yours possesses. Then you would know that despite your love for
Endymion, there is still hope for you..."
Raye bolted upright in bed, breathing hard, sensing the lingering
feelings that her vision had brought upon her. Then she sighed. *Even in
_that_ lifetime I betrayed her! How can she bear to call me her friend?*
She couldn't go back to sleep, so she sat up in front of the
fire,
trying to wish her feelings away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Just give me five more minutes, Luna! I promise I'll wake up
after that!" Serena murmured, still caught up in the wonderful dream she
was having.
"That's what you've been saying at five minute intervals for the
past twenty minutes! Now stop being so lazy and get yourself out of bed,
Serena! You have to take Miss Haruna's math test today!"
"Oh, all right Luna, you win! But what's the point of getting me
out of bed when you know I'm not going to pass Miss Haruna's test! I
never do!"
"You never study! If you'd only ask Ami for some study tips I'm
sure she'd be more than willing to help you out."
By this time, Serena was out of bed, and running out the front
door.
"Forget something sis?" Sammy called out.
"Ooh- you little brat! Give..me...my...LUNCH!"
"You'll have to come and get it..."
(Steam coming out of Serena's ears and wacko signs in her eyes)
(One large sweatdrop forming on Sammy's head)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Okay, you guys, I've got this party-thing underway! The first
one
will be at the temple, traditional Scout meeting, blah, blah...with just
us
four plus Serena...then I've invited Molly, Frances, Jessie, Katherine,
Patty,
Sandra, Vicki, Jennifer, oh, those new girls...um, Christine, Alex, and
Michelle. Of course, I invited Greg, Andrew, Chad, Darien, plus a few
other guys. And then, you guys can bring some others, too, if ya want."
Mina suddenly spoke up. "Could I bring that new exchange student
along? You know, Adam?" She blushed, realizing at this point that all
eyes
were on her. "I had to show him around our school yesterday, and we got
to
talking- we have a lot in common!" She finished defensively.
They all laughed, though not unkindly.
"Sure Mina, we'd love to meet him."
Mina gave a sigh of relief. There was always someone to the
rescue.
"Thanks, Ami."
"So what's going on between you and Chad, Raye? You guys seem
awfully cozy lately," Lita teased.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing! He's just helping with the party
and
things, that's all."
Lita and Mina exchanged knowing glances, which Raye had the
misfortune to notice.
"It is _not_ like that, you guys! There is positively nothing, I
repeat
_nothing_ between us, and there never will be! You are being
ridiculous!!"
Her heart sunk as she said those words. A part of her actually
did
want to like Chad, if it meant that she would stop pining over Darien.
But
she grimly denied herself the easy way out.
*Besides, that would be unfair to Chad. He's a nice guy, even if
he's not the one for me. I really should be nicer to him.*
"All right, Raye, don't get so worked up about it. Anyway, it's
your call," Lita replied. "So, did you want me to whip up something for
De Chelly's, or no?"
At the swift change in topic, Raye eagerly embraced her task.
"If you could, yeah that'd be great! It would save some money
too. Can you do about half of it, or would that be asking too much?"
"No, not at all. I've got some great dishes planned...oh, this is
gonna be the best!"
"Mina, have you got all the decorations? Is there anything else
that you think you'll need?"
"Nope, got them all. How about the invitations, Raye? Did you
get the layout done and everything?"
"Sure, I finished that a long time ago, and I've already written
in the names, so all we have to do is send them out."
"Great! I've got some music selections ready. You guys can
check them out if you'd like. They're not all classical, you know," Ami
added as an afterthought.
"We know," they all replied laughingly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mars saw a shadow come up behind her, and her reflexes went
into overdrive immediately. She slammed into the intruder with all her
might and disabled him completely.
"Mars, I was only coming to-"
What? She thought she recognized the voice, but she couldn't
be certain.
"Saldor, is that you?" Mars asked, naming a suitor she once had
and refused.
"No, Mars, it's me," and the voice was followed by a body that
revealed her mysterious visitor.
"Chiru?"
It hit her, hard. Chiru had been there for her as long as she
could
remember being Sailor Mars. He had always been in the background, there
when and if she had a need for someone to talk to. Chiru had always been
at her side, willing to do anything for her, despite himself.
Then the memories came.
Her and Chiru in the Palace gardens, laughing together, holding
hands in a friendly manner.
Chiru teasing her about her new outfit, saying it would attract
all
the men in the kingdom.
His steel blade flashing before her eyes...Chiru had been showing
off to her that day.
Chiru protecting her from one of her angrier moods, calming her
down with soothing words.
And, lastly, Chiru comforting her after she had confessed to
loving
Endymion, and had wanted to kill herself for betraying her princess.
He had left shortly after that episode.
"When did you come back? I never thought I'd see you again!"
"I had to come back! I never meant to leave in the first place,
Raye." He gently whispered her name.
"Why did you leave? You never said goodbye-" She broke off,
not wanting to sound like she had needed him in her life through those
first few months, enduring her pain and longing to be held by someone,
anyone...preferably her best friend, Chiru.
"I know, I know. Shhh, it'll be fine. I'm here now."
Raye threw herself into his waiting arms, drawing in his scent,
remembering their good times together, and knowing that this was the
one place where she would always be safe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To be continued in Part 3...